Security risks in Singapore
Singapore practises a strong rule of law, and has some of the lowest crime rates and lowest levels of corruption in the world.
Penalties for drug offences are severe, and include the death penalty.
The sale of chewing gum in Singapore has been illegal since 1992, and the pavements / sidewalks are noticeably clean.
Singaporean society has become more liberal on LGBT rights. Sexual relations between men were technically illegal until 2023 (sexual relations between women have always been legal).
It’s the law that, if you have knowledge or reason to believe or suspect that a crime has been committed, you must submit a police report or witness report.
Non-violent crime
Petty crimes such as pickpocketing and street theft are rare.
Other crimes include shop theft, theft from dwellings, outrage of modesty and voyeurism.
As with the rest of the world, scams and cybercrime are a growing concern.
Armed robbery
Violent crime is extremely rare, but there have been incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the Singapore Strait, and Singapore is a transit and destination country for human trafficking.
Terrorism
The main terrorist threat to Singapore is from Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which has links to al-Qaeda and Abu Sayyaf.
To counter this, there are world-class standards of detection and prevention in place.
Riots
Under the penal code, ‘rioting’ refers to the unlawful gathering of five or more people where force or violence is used. This doesn’t happen often in Singapore. In fact, there have only been two riots since 1965.
Events
Tourism is a major industry in Singapore. Well-known landmarks include Raffles Hotel (for a Singapore Sling), the Merlion sculpture, Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, the Orchard Road shopping area, the resort island of Sentosa, and Singapore’s Botanic Gardens.
The diverse cuisine includes Chinese, Malay, Indian and Tamil, with various hawker centres for communal eating. Singapore’s national dish is Hainanese chicken rice, and Singapore chilli crab is equally notorious.
There are frequent events on the island, such as festivals and parades, F1, WTA, and Chinese New Year. With our concierge service, we can advise on the best things to see and do.
For all our trips, we make sure we’re aware of what’s on so we can avoid the traffic, keep our clients safe, and get them where they’re going on time.